Device for measuring the feed motion of a finishing belt

ABSTRACT

A device for measuring the feed motion of a finishing belt includes a movable contact section for contacting the finishing belt, wherein a movement of the finishing belt can be transferred to the contact section, and a sensor device including a sensor and a reference section cooperating with the sensor, wherein the reference section or the sensor is motionally coupled with the contact section.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority of European Patent Application, Serial No. 10 191 368.9, filed Nov. 16, 2010, pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a device for measuring the feed motion of a finishing belt.

It is known to provide sensors for monitoring a belt transport in systems for finish-machining of substantially cylindrical workpiece surfaces.

However, there is still a need to provide an improved device for measuring the feed motion of a finishing belt which enables a precise measurement of the feed motion of the finishing belt with high reliability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention, a device for measuring a feed motion of a finishing belt includes a movable contact section contacting the finishing belt, wherein a movement of the finishing belt is transferred to the contact section, and a sensor device having a sensor and a reference section cooperating with the sensor, wherein the reference section or the sensor is motionally coupled with the contact section.

The device according to the invention has, on one hand, a contact section which is movably driven by moving the finishing belt and, on the other hand, the movement of the contact section is motionally coupled with the reference section, which cooperates with an, in particular, stationary sensor or with a sensor which cooperates with an, in particular, stationary reference section. Preferably, the reference section is motionally coupled with the contact section and the sensor is stationary.

By providing both a contact section and a reference section, the movement of the finishing belt is transferred to the contact section independent of the function of the sensor device. In this way, the movement of the finishing belt can be particularly reliably transferred to the contact section. With the sensor device, which is provided separately from the contact section, a particularly precise measurement of the feed motion of the finishing belt can be performed. It is sufficient that the contact section is motionally coupled with the reference section or with the sensor.

According to an advantageous feature of the present invention, continuously changing sensor signals may be generated with the sensor device. For example, the sensor device may generate analog signals depending on the cooperation with the reference section. These can be transformed into digital signals, if needed.

According to another advantageous feature of the present invention, the sensor device may be a distance measuring device or a gap measuring device. For example, a path traveled by the reference section or by a portion of the reference section may be measured with the sensor device; or a gap between the reference section and the sensor or between a portion of the reference section and the sensor may be measured. With both embodiments, the relative position between the reference section and the sensor can be reliably and precisely measured. By motionally coupling the reference section or the sensor with the contact section, a movement of the contact section and hence of the finishing belt can be inferred from the movement of the reference section or of the sensor.

According to yet another advantageous feature of the present invention, a particularly simple device for measuring the feed motion of a finishing belt may be constructed by moving the contact section and the references section in synchronism with each other. This further improves the precision of the device.

According to yet another advantageous feature of the present invention, the structure becomes particularly simple by forming the reference section and the contact section from the same component or by employing an assembly having components that are prevented from moving relative to each other. A movement of the reference section or of the sensor then advantageously corresponds directly to a movement of the contact section.

According to still another advantageous feature of the present invention, the contact section and the reference section may be rotatable about a common rotation axis. In this way, a compact device may be constructed which makes it possible to drive the contact section by rotatably feeding the finishing belt about a rotation axis, with the reference section then also rotating about the same rotation axis.

According to another advantageous feature of the present invention, the contact section may be formed in the shape of a circular-cylindrical contact surface. The position and the path of the finishing belt are then independent of a rotation position of the contact section.

According to an advantageous feature of the present invention, the reference section may be a reference surface having different radii of curvature along its extent. In this way, continuously changing sensor signals and hence a particularly precise measurement of the feed motion of the finishing belt may be produced in a particularly simple manner.

According to another advantageous feature of the present invention, the structure of the device may be simplified by forming the reference surface as a cam disk. In another embodiment, the reference surface of the cam disk may represent a radially outwardly oriented surface.

According to another aspect of the invention, an apparatus for finish-machining a workpiece includes the aforedescribed device for measuring the feed motion of a finishing belt and a drive device for feeding the finishing belt from a finishing belt supply to at least one workpiece processing location. With an apparatus of this type, the device according to the invention for measuring the feed motion of a finishing belt can also be used to determine that a finishing belt supply has been depleted and/or that a finishing belt is torn. For this purpose, the states of the device for measuring the feed motion of the finishing belt and of the drive device can be matched to one another and monitored.

According to an advantageous feature of the present invention, the apparatus for finish-machining a workpiece may have a signal output device for outputting a warning signal which can be triggered when the device for measuring the feed motion of the finishing belt produces a constant sensor signal, although the drive device is active. In this way, a signal may be provided to the operating personnel of a finishing apparatus to indicate that a finishing belt supply has been depleted and/or that a finishing belt is torn.

The activity of the drive device may also be monitored, for example, by monitoring the operating state of a drive motor which unwinds the finishing belt from a finishing belt supply via corresponding drive elements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent upon reading the following description of currently preferred exemplified embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a front view of an embodiment of an apparatus for belt-finishing processing of a workpiece according to the invention, wherein the apparatus includes a device for measuring the feed motion of a finishing belt;

FIG. 2 an enlarged view of the device according to FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 a side view of the device according to FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Throughout all the figures, same or corresponding elements may generally be indicated by same reference numerals. These depicted embodiments are to be understood as illustrative of the invention and not as limiting in any way. It should also be understood that the figures are not necessarily to scale and that the embodiments are sometimes illustrated by graphic symbols, phantom lines, diagrammatic representations and fragmentary views. In certain instances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of the present invention or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted.

Turning now to the drawing, and in particular to FIG. 1, there is shown an embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention, indicated with the reference symbol 10, for finish-machining of a workpiece. The apparatus 10 includes a machine frame 12 and two arms or claws 14 and 16, respectively, which are pivotable about their respective associated pivot axes 18 and 20. Separate drives may be provided for pivotally driving each of the arms 14 and 16; or a common claw drive can be provided, wherein the movement of the arms 14 and 16 is coupled with one another, for example via a coupling member 22 which transfers a pivot motion of one of the arms 14 to the other arm 16.

The free ends 24 and 26 of the arms 14 and 16 include pressure elements 28 and 30 connected with the arms. The pressure elements 28 and 30 have curved contour surfaces 32 and 34 which are adapted to the circumference of a workpiece 36 to be finish-machined. The workpiece 36 can be rotated or pivoted about a workpiece axis 38. Optionally, the workpiece may also be driven in an oscillating motion, meaning oscillating back and forth, in the direction along the workpiece axis 38.

The apparatus 10 further includes a supply 40 for a finishing belt 42, the path of which is indicated by a dashed-double dotted line. The supply 40 may be, for example, a roll on which the finishing belt is wound up and from which the finishing belt can be unwound.

Starting from the supply 40, the finishing belt 42 passes through a device 44, which is described in more detail below, for measuring the feed motion of the finishing belt 42 in an feed motion direction 46. The finishing belt 42 is then diverted by a deflection roller 48 and fed to a first workpiece processing position 50 which extends along part of the circumference of a surface 52 of the workpiece 36 to be machined and along the contour surface 34. At the exit of the workpiece processing position 50, the finishing belt 42 is guided, in relation to the workpiece axis 38, approximately radially outwardly to a deflection roller 54. From the deflection roller 54, the finishing belt 42 then reaches a second workpiece processing position 56 along part of the circumference of the surface 52 of the workpiece 36 and along the contour surface 32. The finishing belt then moves from the exit of the workpiece processing position 56 to an additional deflection roller 58 and from there to a collector 60 for the spent finishing belt.

For driving the finishing belt 42 in the feed motion direction 46, a drive device 62 is provided which is located, when viewed in the feed motion direction 46, after the last workpiece processing position 56 and which pullingly drives the finishing belt 42. For this purpose, for example, two drive rollers 64 are provided, which frictionally contact a front side 66 and a backside 68 of the finishing belt and unwind the finishing belt 42 from the finishing belt supply 40 by rotating the drive rollers 64.

For belt-finishing machining of the workpiece 36, a fresh belt section is supplied to the workpiece processing position 50, causing a belt section of corresponding length to be supplied to the finishing belt collector 60. While the workpiece 36 is machined, the workpiece 36 is rotatably driven by a conventional (unillustrated) drive for rotation about the workpiece axis 38. If desired, the workpiece 36 is additionally driven with an oscillating motion in a direction parallel to the workpiece axis 38. The front side 36 of the finishing belt 42 is provided with a material effective for finishing, which is pressed by the contour surfaces 32 and 34 of the pressure elements 28 and 30 against the surface 52 of the workpiece.

When the finishing belt 42 is spent in the region of a workpiece processing position 50 and/or 56, fresh finishing belt 42 is pulled in by the drive device 62. The length of the pulled-in finishing belt 42 is measured with the device 44 described below (see FIGS. 2 and 3).

The device 44 includes a component 70 which is supported for rotation about a, in particular stationary, rotation axis 72.

The component 70 includes a contact section 74 for contacting the finishing belt 42. The contact section 74 is formed by a circular-cylindrical contact surface 76 which is surrounded along a portion of its circumference by the finishing belt 42 and which contacts the backside 68 of the finishing belt 42. For providing a wrap angle, additional deflection rollers 78 and 80, respectively, are arranged at the inlet and exit of the device 44.

The component 70 includes a reference section 82 which is arranged, when viewed along the rotation axis 72, next to the contact section 74 and which can be rotated together with the contact section about the rotation axis 72. The reference section 82 is formed in the shape of a cam disk 84 which can be rotated about the rotation axis 72.

The cam disk 84 has at its periphery a radially outwardly oriented reference surface 86. The gap between the reference surface 86 and the rotation axis 72 varies, when viewed in the rotation direction, between a smallest gap 88 and a largest gap 90. Accordingly, a particular gap between the reference surface 86 and the rotation axis 72 is associated with each possible rotation position of the component 70. In this way, a stationary sensor 92 can measure different gaps between the reference surface 86 and an effective sensor area 94 depending on the rotation position of the component 70.

The sensor 92 and the reference section 82 together form a sensor device 96. In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the sensor device 96 is a distance measuring device.

Wherein the finishing belt 42 is unwound from the finishing belt supply of 40 in the feed motion direction 46, the finishing belt transfers is motion to the contact surface 76. The component 70 is hereby rotated about the rotation axis 72, causing the gap between the reference surface 86 and the effective surface 94 of the sensor 92 to change commensurate with the rotation. The size of this change corresponds with a corresponding feed path of the finishing belt 42.

When the component 70 has reached a rotation position illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, wherein the effective surface area 94 of the sensor 92 measures a jump from the smallest gap 88 between the reference surface 86 and the rotation axis 72 to the largest gap 90 between the reference surface 86 and the rotation axis 72; subsequently, this rotation position is measured a second time, accompanied by a feed motion of the finishing belt 42 according to a length which corresponds to the circumference of the circular-cylindrical contact surface 76. The spacing between the effective surface 94 and the reference surface 86 changes continuously commensurate with the continuously changing gap between the reference surface 86 and the rotation axis 72, allowing the measurement of a feed motion of any length with the highest possible precision.

For supplying fresh finishing belt to the workpiece processing positions 50 and 56, the arms 14 and 16 are pivoted radially outwardly from their position indicated in FIG. 1, with respect to the workpiece axis 38, about the pivot axes 18 and 20, so that the contour surfaces 32 and 34 are no longer pressed against the workpiece surface 52. In this state, the drive device 62 can be controlled so as to pull in the finishing belt 42. The state of the drive device 62 can also be determined. If the drive device 62 is active and if simultaneously the device 44 fails to measure a feed motion of the finishing belt 42, then it can be concluded that the finishing belt 42 is torn or that the finishing belt 42 has been completely unwound from the finishing belt supply 40. In this situation, a warning signal, for example in form of a warning light, can be outputted with a signal output device (not shown in the drawing).

While the invention has been illustrated and described in connection with currently preferred embodiments shown and described in detail, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and practical application to thereby enable a person skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims and includes equivalents of the elements recited therein: 

1. A device for measuring a feed motion of a finishing belt, comprising: a movable contact section contacting the finishing belt, wherein a movement of the finishing belt is transferred to the contact section, and a sensor device comprising a sensor and a reference section cooperating with the sensor, wherein the reference section or the sensor is motionally coupled with the contact section.
 2. The device of claim 2, wherein the sensor device generates continuously changing sensor signals.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the sensor device is constructed as a distance measuring device or a gap measuring device.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein the contact section and the reference section are configured to be moved synchronously relative to each other.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein the reference section and the contact section are formed by a same component.
 6. The device of claim 1, wherein the reference section and the contact section are formed by an assembly having components which are immovable relative to each other.
 7. The device of claim 1, wherein the contact section and the reference section are constructed for rotation about a common rotation axis.
 8. The device of claim 1, wherein the contact section has a shape of a circular-cylindrical contact surface.
 9. The device of claim 1, wherein the reference section comprises a reference surface having different radii of curvature.
 10. The device of claim 9, wherein the reference surface is formed by a cam disk.
 11. An apparatus for finish-processing of a workpiece, comprising: a device for measuring a feed motion of a finishing belt, comprising: a movable contact section contacting the finishing belt, wherein a movement of the finishing belt is transferred to the contact section, and a sensor device comprising a sensor and a reference section cooperating with the sensor, wherein the reference section or the sensor is motionally coupled with the contact section, and a drive device for supplying the finishing belt from a finishing belt supply to at least one workpiece processing position.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a signal outputting device for outputting a warning signal, which is triggered when the device for measuring the feed motion of the finishing belt generates a constant sensor signal even when the drive device is active. 